Cast:
Me: 33 - Florida Mad, Disney Daft etc, etc,
DH: 41 - As above x 100
Also Starring:
Friend Joanne, Joanne's DH, FIL and 4 lovely DS's aged 9, 8, 5 and 2.
We were so organised that we had very little to do today. We did a few last minute packing things, tidied up, changed the bedding etc and left for FILs house at 3.30pm as he was giving us a lift to the airport. We had just got to the end of the road and DH asks me did I shut the front door tight as I was the last one out. I said yes, but you know when someone asks you you start doubting yourself so we had to go back so that I could check. I had closed it of course. Got to FILs house and he opened his front door wearing a pair of jeans that he had cut himself into shorts! (Hes 71!!!) They werent even cut straight, he was like Robsinson Crusoe! He said he had packed all of his shorts for his holiday next week. I was glad he wouldnt have to get out of the car when he dropped us of.
On the way to the airport DH said he wasnt sure if he had put his wallet in his rucksack so FIL had to pull over while he checked. Of course he had. I swear by now I was going to throttle him . We arrived at Gatwick at around 4.15 and proceeded to Twilight check-in. This went very smoothly and the girl behind the desk was really lovely. (Not that lovely though, she didnt offer us an upgrade and we were smartly dressed and everything! ). We had to stay in the terminal for half an hour after checking in for security reasons to do with the bags, so we went to Starbucks and had a coffee and a blueberry muffin I love blueberry muffins and Starbucks are the best IMHO. We then had a mooch around the shops but didnt buy anything. I was looking for a wallety type purse but couldnt see anything I liked.
As we were staying in the Travel Inn tonight we decided to head there around 5.30. As I had forgotten to print of the e:mail confirmation (guess I wasnt as organised as I thought) DH went to the information desk to find out where we could get the coach to the Travel Inn. The lady there informed him that there are a few Travel Inns in the Gatwick area so depending on which one we wanted would depend on what coach we needed! We decided to head for the North Terminal to look for the coaches and worry about what Travel Inn we were staying in when we got there. (we since realised we could have gone from the South terminal but, hindsight is a wonderful thing!) When we got to the coach area we could see a Travel Inn in the distance. I was sure this must be the one as when I had booked it online I had selected Travel Inn Gatwick. Now, we probably could have walked it but as there were a few roundabouts in the way we didnt want to take the chance of becoming road kill for rush hour drivers. The next coach wasnt due for another 20 minutes or so (I think they do a circuit of the airport hotels) so we decided to take a taxi (blow the expense, we were on our holidays!) We were directed out by the controller to our taxi but the driver didnt look very happy. I asked the controller what was wrong with him but he said not to worry just go ahead. Well, I thought maybe he didnt like the look of us (as if!) and I was a bit peeved as he was clearly annoyed about something. However, It turned out that the fare behind us had been his and they didnt like his car (I thought it was fine, clean and comfortable) and so they had asked for another vehicle. The reason he was so peeved is because it was a £500 fare in to the centre of London! I could see his point but I guess when you can afford to pay £500 for a taxi you can also afford to be fussy!
We arrived at the Travel Inn and thankfully they had our booking (PHEW!) so we could relax. We had dinner in the Slice Restaurant attached and headed to bed around 10ish. Ready for another long day ahead.
Me: 33 - Florida Mad, Disney Daft etc, etc,
DH: 41 - As above x 100
Also Starring:
Friend Joanne, Joanne's DH, FIL and 4 lovely DS's aged 9, 8, 5 and 2.
We were so organised that we had very little to do today. We did a few last minute packing things, tidied up, changed the bedding etc and left for FILs house at 3.30pm as he was giving us a lift to the airport. We had just got to the end of the road and DH asks me did I shut the front door tight as I was the last one out. I said yes, but you know when someone asks you you start doubting yourself so we had to go back so that I could check. I had closed it of course. Got to FILs house and he opened his front door wearing a pair of jeans that he had cut himself into shorts! (Hes 71!!!) They werent even cut straight, he was like Robsinson Crusoe! He said he had packed all of his shorts for his holiday next week. I was glad he wouldnt have to get out of the car when he dropped us of.
On the way to the airport DH said he wasnt sure if he had put his wallet in his rucksack so FIL had to pull over while he checked. Of course he had. I swear by now I was going to throttle him . We arrived at Gatwick at around 4.15 and proceeded to Twilight check-in. This went very smoothly and the girl behind the desk was really lovely. (Not that lovely though, she didnt offer us an upgrade and we were smartly dressed and everything! ). We had to stay in the terminal for half an hour after checking in for security reasons to do with the bags, so we went to Starbucks and had a coffee and a blueberry muffin I love blueberry muffins and Starbucks are the best IMHO. We then had a mooch around the shops but didnt buy anything. I was looking for a wallety type purse but couldnt see anything I liked.
As we were staying in the Travel Inn tonight we decided to head there around 5.30. As I had forgotten to print of the e:mail confirmation (guess I wasnt as organised as I thought) DH went to the information desk to find out where we could get the coach to the Travel Inn. The lady there informed him that there are a few Travel Inns in the Gatwick area so depending on which one we wanted would depend on what coach we needed! We decided to head for the North Terminal to look for the coaches and worry about what Travel Inn we were staying in when we got there. (we since realised we could have gone from the South terminal but, hindsight is a wonderful thing!) When we got to the coach area we could see a Travel Inn in the distance. I was sure this must be the one as when I had booked it online I had selected Travel Inn Gatwick. Now, we probably could have walked it but as there were a few roundabouts in the way we didnt want to take the chance of becoming road kill for rush hour drivers. The next coach wasnt due for another 20 minutes or so (I think they do a circuit of the airport hotels) so we decided to take a taxi (blow the expense, we were on our holidays!) We were directed out by the controller to our taxi but the driver didnt look very happy. I asked the controller what was wrong with him but he said not to worry just go ahead. Well, I thought maybe he didnt like the look of us (as if!) and I was a bit peeved as he was clearly annoyed about something. However, It turned out that the fare behind us had been his and they didnt like his car (I thought it was fine, clean and comfortable) and so they had asked for another vehicle. The reason he was so peeved is because it was a £500 fare in to the centre of London! I could see his point but I guess when you can afford to pay £500 for a taxi you can also afford to be fussy!
We arrived at the Travel Inn and thankfully they had our booking (PHEW!) so we could relax. We had dinner in the Slice Restaurant attached and headed to bed around 10ish. Ready for another long day ahead.
How the other half live eh? Glad you found the hotel on the first attempt.
